Shooting begins for Karnataka poll anthem

BENGALURU: Shooting for the very first anthem for the state election began on Friday with scenes being shot at Vidhana Soudha and Kanteerava Stadium. An anthem for Karnataka elections 2018, which aims to promote ethical voting and boost the voter turnout, is being penned by noted Kannada director Yograj Bhat. Bhat is also directing the dance scenes.

For the election anthem, the song will be composed by music director Harikrishna and it will be sung by Vijay Prakash and his team. The dances will be choreographed by well-known dance director Imran Sadiya.

The election anthem is being shot across Karnataka for the last few days. On Friday, hundreds of various cultural artistes from across Karnataka participated in the song shoot. Speaking on the occasion, Bhat said, “The credit of the election anthem should go to Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar who was instrumental in getting an anthem for the elections. We are also using disabled, adivasi, transgenders and young voters for the election song shoot.”

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said the election anthem was in tune with the commission’s theme — inclusive, accessible and ethical elections. “The anthem will play a major role in promoting enlightened and ethical voting and this will also help in encouraging voters to come out in large numbers and boost the voter turnout. The song will be played on radio, TV, cinemas and other media,” he said.

Bhat was quite excited about taking up the project. “This project is very close to my heart. For several years, I was yearning to do something for the society and the election anthem is just like my dream come true. Lyrics always catch our attention and stay in the mind for a longer time. I hope the election anthem will be remembered by everyone and remind them of clean elections.”